Our world is bananas. I said it and I am not taking it back! With everything going on, we desperately need hope, joy and—more kindness. It is with that in mind that myself and three other military spouses are going full throttle with our GivingTuesdayMilitary campaign for 2020.
GivingTuesday was established in 2012 to create a kinder and more generous world. It always follows Thanksgiving and the absolute craziness of Black Friday; this year it is Dec 1. It’s easy for anyone to get swept away in the materialistic shopping frenzy of the holiday season. This is a day to slow the world down to focus on community, giving and doing good. When I was approached to create a campaign for a military version with my soul sisters, my answer was a resounding yes. Kindness is my jam!
During our 2019 inaugural edition of the campaign, we set the lofty goal of 1 million acts of intentional kindness. It was not only a catchy phrase, but to us it was absolutely doable. We have 1.1 million active duty service members serving across the globe! Add in our epic veterans, milspouses, kids and patriotic supporters—we just knew spreading kindness throughout the world would be achievable. When GivingTuesday ran their social impact report, they found that our campaign reached 2.5 million.
As human beings, we crave connection. We seek belonging and community—it’s innate. Research has also proven that when we give, we receive so much more out of it. Our brains light up like the Fourth of July night sky with fireworks of happy hormones. The reason I feel this initiative resonated with so many was because of how much we as a world just want to feel joy and purpose, without a catch.
When the day was over, we immediately turned to each other saying, “What’s next?” Fast forward 10 months later: We created a nonprofit to continue our mission of increasing global generosity and kindness. We knew that GivingTuesdayMilitary would always be an initiative we’d go all in for, no matter what. Although we couldn’t have anticipated a global pandemic impacting our campaign, it won’t stop us or our incredible chapter ambassadors.
What makes GivingTuesdayMilitary unique is that it isn’t confined to a place; our chapters can literally be anywhere in the world. All it takes is someone willing to raise their hand and commit to leading a group in their area. There are also options to simply join an existing team or just participate in kindness on the day.
With COVID-19 in mind, it’s going to look different this year. Zoom may replace your big in-person group meetings. Finding ways to minimize contact is also a concern. But we can do this! Our military community is used to being challenged—we can do hard things.
Some of the ideas for big projects this year include collecting vital items for the homeless, especially our veterans. This can be done by creating an Amazon wish list, limiting contact so safety precautions can be observed. You can do the same for the foster kids in your area, who are also in desperate need of clothes and essentials. We are also focusing on our nursing homes, whose residents are even more isolated than usual. Get kids together to craft and write inspiring messages; it will brighten their month like nothing else. Blood drives operated by the American Red Cross are also on the table. The possibilities for kindness are endless!
This year, it’s so incredibly important that we show up. The pandemic is increasing negative mental health symptoms at alarming rates. Studies are also predicting higher rates of suicide, with the Army already releasing their statistics on increases since the pandemic hit. The holiday season itself is already cause for much of this as it is, so it’ll be even more compounded this year. Your voice, commitment and kindness can quite literally save lives.
Now more than ever, we need each other. We need you.
To learn more about the initiative and how to join, go to GivingTuesdayMilitary.com.